"The relationship between Japan and the United States was governed by the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security of 1951 that allowed the US to keep it forces in Japan until such time that the Japanese self-defense forces were fully trained. This treaty was due for renewal in 1960. However, in the increasingly hostile atmosphere of the Cold War public opinion was strongly against it. From May 20th until June 22nd students and opposition groups organized massive demonstrations in Tokyo that were frequently met with police brutality. One female student was killed. Hamaya covered the events and later asserted that they changed his life. He later said: "In 1960 Japan was plunged into a sort of political crisis that reminded one of a night before an outbreak of a revolution. Never did the Japanese people evince so much concern for political issues as at this time. Such an incident never happened in the time of my generation. And I, who never took pictures of political happenings, felt I had to make record of this historical incident.! (text in 'Landscapes of Japan', p. [27-28]). The present booklet was published in the same year and provides an evocative document of the troubled times." (Titus Boeder)